What role did the Estates-General play in triggering revolutionary change in France?

• A. It weakened the monarchy and led to peasant uprisings.
• B. Its summoning in 1789 led to constitutional crisis and the formation of the National Assembly.
• C. It formalized a radical democracy.
• D. It had no significant impact on revolutionary developments.

Answer: (B)

Calling the Estates-General in 1789 opened a political crisis by forcing the three estates to confront how the kingdom would be governed and taxed. For the first time in many decades, the gathering highlighted deep demands for meaningful representation and constitutional limits on the monarchy. The Third Estate, frustrated by unequal voting and the way power was distributed, broke away and proclaimed itself the National Assembly, effectively claiming sovereignty outside the king’s authority. That moment transformed a mostly consultative body into a revolutionary force and set in motion the constitutional crisis that toppled the old order. While peasant unrest and more radical democratic ideas developed later, the Estates-General’s summons was the spark that began the revolutionary process by redefining political authority in France.